Outside money buoys local home sales
By LARRY RINGLER / Tribune ChronicleOutside buyers continue to stabilize Mahoning Valley housing unit sales but aren't buoying prices as foreclosures erode values, area Realtors said Wednesday.
Unit sales in August for both Trumbull and Mahoning counties were the exact same as in July - 153 for Trumbull and 189 for Mahoning, according to the Warren area Board of Realtors.
Trumbull's average price tumbled 13.7 percent to $81,830 in August from July. However, Mahoning's average price actually rose 10.5 percent to $108,703.
Year-over-year, Trumbull County's August sales were down 19.5 percent from August 2007 and nearly 23 percent in Mahoning County. The average selling price was off 13.8 percent in Trumbull and 2.5 percent in Mahoning.
The average number of days a house was on the market in Trumbull County rose to 123 from 115 last year, and to 104 from 100 in Mahoning County.
Cheryl Stevens, broker at Snelson & Stevens Inc. in Howland said her agency closed 18 sales in August, in line with the 15 to 20 per month it's been closing in recent months.
But Stevens and Realtor board president Andrea Lupton said foreclosures continue to haunt the local market.
''A lot of people are buying these foreclosures for 20 to 35 percent off the regular market price. Those foreclosures are affecting (other) home prices,'' Stevens said.
Apart from foreclosures, Lupton said prices for owner occupied houses are ''pretty steady right now.'' She said some owners are cutting prices because they realize that if they're staying in the area and buying a ''move-up'' house, they're getting a lower price on their new house.
A number of buyers are investors from the East and West coasts who recognize the Valley's cheap housing prices, the Realtors said.
''Some from California seem to be putting tenants into the houses. They expect the market to come back, and then they'll sell,'' Stevens said.
Other buyers are ''flipping'' the houses - fixing them up to sell for a quick profit. The strategy works even with a weak market because the buyers are getting the houses cheaply enough, Stevens said. Other people buy area houses, then sell them online on eBay, she said.
Stevens said she's also seeing a number of buyers who are moving to Ohio, some from the Sunbelt state of Florida.
''They weren't the grandma type; they were in their 40s. They came here because the houses are less, they can get insurance and they don't mind the seasons,'' she said.
Stevens also said she's had retirees who were renting in California but who bought a house locally to get a reasonable cost of living.
''They might have lived in an apartment, but their rent was still high,'' she said.
Stevens and Lupton said the real estate market still will get more benefit from the influx of General Motors Corp. workers who began arriving this summer when the automaker hired 1,400 for a third shift at the Lordstown Complex.
Some of the workers are renting until they sell the house they own in other parts of the country. Others may be waiting until they know the area better.
''They've been in the area for a while and are starting to feel comfortable. Probably next year we'll see those people get out to see properties,'' Lupton said.
She said that she began seeing greater interest in housing after the federal government took over mortgage financing companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Relief over that thorny problem led to a drop in interest rates, she noted.
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VoiceOfReason
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09-25-08 10:25 PM
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Greenspan didn't do this, and he is closer to genius than most - that's the toughest job in government. The banks are a big part of the problem and now we're bailing them out. And the consumer bears the largest part of the blame for being ignorant and getting into such a position (and a lot did). I also don't believe all these "outsiders" are moving here just for a cheap house - they still need something to draw them here other than a cheap house.
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nativio289
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09-25-08 2:10 PM
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Yeah! 100% of all of these borrowers were irresponsible! Cuz nobody who brought in 3,000 income a month got tricked into a 600-800 a month mortgage that they could afford and then ended up with a 2300 a month payment! I guess they were stupid for thinking those low interest rates would last longer than 7 years. Thanks Alan Greenspan, genius! Tough poop, Mr and Mrs. Joe Average! Don't blame the banks that flipped mortgages and debt, giving out bad loans knowing they weren't going to be on the hook to collect. Don't blame the packagers of bad debt or the government that helped create this bubble based on low interest loans and home buying to make Wall Street and investors happy after the tech bubble burst. They are all exemplary examples of responsibility!
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TomSmith
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09-25-08 10:27 AM
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Many of those out of town investors are buying trashed homes for 6K and then find out that they can't rent them or sell them. They can't understand why, until I have to tell them they paid 6K for a 2K house.. Fools.
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Billdog
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09-25-08 10:09 AM
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It's time to make the people that barrow more than they can afford, pay the price. They are to irresponsable to live within their means, should mean they don't get another chance, or they have to save a signifigant portion for their next home purchase. It seems the people that do the right thing are always helping those that make poor choices.
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OldManGrump2
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09-25-08 9:14 AM
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I hope real estate taxes reflect the drop of almost 14%. The people deserve to pay what their property is worth, and not 1 penny more to the tax man.
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letsgopens87
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09-25-08 9:12 AM
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Here's a thought for the brilliant mortgage companies: only give home loans to people who can afford to pay them. Perhaps you wouldn't be all going bankrupt if you followed those simple instructions.
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